It’s true that quitting smoking is a decision that only the smoker can make. Still, you can influence and encourage a person to stop smoking especially if he or she is someone who you care so much about. Hope the following tips would help you encourage that person to stop smoking today.
1) Tell that person about your concern. You want to let the person know that you are worried about their smoking habit. Ask him or her to quit smoking and state your reasons for it. Be honest and tell the person that you are very much concerned about the possible effects of smoking to his or her health.
2) Ask if they would like to quit. It’s most likely that they do. But some smokers don’t and if you push them, it may just make things worse. So don’t forget to ask the person if they want to quit before you proceed to helping them. Yes you can help and support them but quitting is a decision only the smoker can do. If he or she wants to quit, proceed with step 3.
3) Motivate them. You can actually strengthen their will to stop smoking now by giving them more reasons to ditch their habit. Aside from improving their health, tell them that quitting smoking can also benefit the health of their loved ones. Remind the person that with every cigarette smoke he or she breathes out, someone out there breathes it in. Secondhand smoke has been found to be more dangerous that firsthand smoke. What’s worse, it affects primarily the people who have never used cigarettes.
4) Let them know you’re always ready to help. Quitting is really a difficult endeavor. Let that person know that you are always there to guide and support them all through their journey towards a cigarette-free life.
5) Remind them of how much money they could save. Smoking is not just a deadly habit, but a very expensive one. Let them compute how much money they can save within a year of not smoking. Include the cost of healthcare plans – inform them that smokers pay higher premium rates than non-smokers. And also, consider how much it will cost them to recover from a smoking-related illness if they won’t stop as soon as possible.
6) Be supportive. Let the person feel that no matter what, you will be there to help them. Once they agree to quit, ask them in what way they would want to drop the habit. If they are clueless, inform them about some proven quit smoking methods. Or, you can also accompany the person to a smoking cessation specialist.
7) Help them combat their smoking triggers. Let the person identify his or her smoking triggers and offer some tips to overcome them. For example, advice your friend to avoid going to bars and other places where smoking is rampant, chew a gum whenever he or she feels the urge to smoke, and have enough rest. Quitting is often a stressful process. To avoid a relapse, stress management is important
